Chapter 23. Preparations

"Got everything?" I asked, glancing at the interior of our small cave. While most of the furniture, weapons or really anything important already went into my inventory, there were still some half-full bags lying around the chamber. I left the packing to Neo as she was the one who lived here for the last few weeks and knew much better if there was something useful left.

Neo just shrugged and showed me her scroll. "I think so. Most of those bags are filled with trash or broken things. And the rest have some weapons and ammunition inside. Who knows it might be useful to have some supplies hidden here just in case."

I pressed my lips together before giving a shallow nod. While the idea of hiding supplies wasn't too useful for me — I had inventory for that —, it could be a nice backup plan for Neo just in case something happened to me or when we were separated in the future.

"Good idea Neo," I murmured, approaching the few remaining bags. With a wave of my hand, the area before me shimmered as two large containers landed on the ground. "Might as well leave a bit more ammo and some dust. I have plenty of it after my visit to Atlas," I explained when I noticed Neo's raised eyebrow.

Neo grinned and quickly typed something on her scroll. "Can I experiment with it later?"

A groan left my lips as a few particular memories flashed in my mind. Neo and dust just didn't mix, I would rather give her a minigun loaded with infinite ammunition than a crate of high-quality dust... But, I sighed, Neo's wide mismatched eyes looking straight into mine, if she experiments under my supervision it shouldn't be too bad, right? Besides she is gonna need dust when we go after Merlot's bases... What the hell am I even thinking, I'm screwed.

Shoulders slumping, I grumbled, "I will think about it. Now come on, I need to seal this place if we want to use it ever again."

With a grin wider than ever, Neo followed me to the cave's exit. Stepping out, I threw a glance into my inventory and nodded when a small brown crystal materialized in my hand. At once I channeled my Aura into the object and clenched my fist. The crystal didn't give any resistance as it shattered, raining hundreds of microscopic shards upon the ground.

[Earth Dust absorbed. Reserves available: 424 MP]

"Step back, Neo."

Smiling, I stomped hard and the entire earth shook, answering my call. Keeping a steady connection with the rocks below me, I repeated my action and watched as a solid stone wall rose from the ground in place of the cave's entrance. It was no different from the rocky steps surrounding us and I had to smirk at my work. If one didn't know that a cave should be here, then they had no chance of finding it.

"That should do it," I murmured and glanced at Neo, who was watching the stone wall with a furrowed brow. Seeing the question written all over her face, I quickly added, "Don't worry, as long as you remember this place, you won't have any problems with going inside. I made the wall quite thin so a single Aura enhanced strike should do it in case I am not here."

Neo nodded, almost shoving her scroll in front of my eyes. "So can we go now?"

"Not yet," I answered. "We still have something to do on Patch, but first give me a minute so I can deal with your supposed protector. He should have been here in the first place, but it seems my orders weren't enough to keep him from running away."

With a sigh, I closed my eyes and searched for the unique connection I possessed with my subordinate. Bob? Are you here? For a moment I felt nothing, complete silence. And then in an instant, a presence touched the connection, its soft trill echoing through my mind. Good, at least you are alive... We will talk about your punishment for abandoning your post later, for now, can you please go to our old home, the one in the mountains, I tried to explain, visualizing the image of our old cave over the link.

Another quiet trill traveler through our connection. I will take that as a yes. I pinched my nose and closed the link, not even waiting for another confirmation. I really had no patience to deal with the dumb Grimm. Bob could either listen to me or once again mess everything up and wait for me to find him. Please just listen this once, I'm not asking for much.

Letting out a long-suffering sigh — something that was becoming a habit and I was only back for an hour —, I nodded to Neo and began walking towards the forest separating us from the more populated area of Patch. "Come on, we have only a few hours before it will be dark and I don't want to stay here for another day because we were too slow."

At the sound of my voice, Neo quickly caught up and fell into step right next to me, her fingers flying over the screen for her scroll. "Where are we going anyway? And why aren't we flying there if you don't want to waste time?"

"Why my dear brat," I grinned. "We are going to Patch village to get you a proper weapon. If you want to follow me into Merlot's hideouts then I can't let you fight with some second-grade swords we looted from bandits. I hope you know some good shops or smiths in the village."

The grin Neo gained when I mentioned a new weapon was quickly wiped off when the last sentence left my mouth. The girl froze for a moment, only to quickly recover, another question already visible on her scroll. "And how should I know any of that? You told me to stay away from the village."

"Yes, and you like a responsible little girl definitely listened," I snorted. "Please Neo, I'm a Grimm, not an idiot. If I was in your shoes, I would have gone to the village as soon as I could, there is nothing wrong with that... Well, there is, but who am I to admonish you when nothing bad happened." I stopped suddenly, peering at Neo, "You didn't destroy anything, right? Do I need to worry about the entire village swarming us when we enter?"

The girl scowled and sent me a flat look. Chuckling I began walking again, "Just checking, Neo. No need to get angry."

"Not bad," I murmured, surveying the various buildings inside the village. For an island so small, it possessed a very advanced town. High steel walls filled with weapons I had seen in Atlas, surrounded the entire settlement. And while anyone could enter and leave through the gates without a question, I doubted that Grimm were offered the same courtesy except from a few high-caliber bullets right in the head. Hell the entire village even had a few armed towers standing here and there just in case something got through the walls.

They really want to keep Vale's safe-heaven safe, I admitted as we passed by an enormous gray building. Signal academy if what Neo told me is true and considering its size, I doubt she is lying... I wonder if there are any familiar faces inside. As the last thought passed my mind, I quickly made sure that my hood and cloak hid my face along with my draconic arm well enough. While I doubted anyone except Ozpin's trusted circle knew me, I preferred to play it safe.

Sighing, I glanced at Neo. "Did you visit this supposed shop or are we going in blind? I would rather not search the entire village for another one."

Neo nodded and I waited for her to type her answer... We really needed to learn sign language, it couldn't be comfortable to write entire sentences just to answer a simple question. At least I hoped that my intelligence attribute would aid me in learning it quicker. Neo had been studying it ever since she found an article about it on her scroll and that was before I left for Atlas. I had some catching up to do.

Feeling a weak tug on my cloak, I dismissed those thoughts and looked down on the offered scroll. "This is the best one I found with normal weaponry. I went there a few times but didn't stay for long as the prices are quite high."

I handed her scroll back as my eyebrow raised. "Oh, and did you find anything for you?" I asked. "I wanted to help you find a weapon that would suit you, but if you already have something in mind then that's even better."

Neo shook her head. "Nope," she wrote. "As I said before, I didn't really stick around, not with the old shopkeeper watching me like a hawk. Although I saw a few weapons I would like to try. Can I?"

"Of course you can," I chuckled. "That's why we are going there. And don't worry about the shopkeeper, I doubt he will have a problem if I am with you. He was probably just curious why someone so young is constantly visiting his shop without any supervision."

Grinning, Neo nodded and pointed towards a small two-story building to our right. With just one glance at the wooden structure, I knew this was our destination. If the simple name "Verm's Armaments" didn't give it away then the window showing various weaponry definitely did. Swords, shields, bows, they had it all, and I was pretty sure that more waited inside.

"Go on," I nudged Neo forward. "And remember the price doesn't matter."

Without a word, Neo sprinted towards the shop and practically jumped inside through the open door. Shaking my head, I followed the excited girl, just in a much less energetic fashion. I even lowered my hood as I passed the shop's boundary. No reason to make the owner suspicious.

Scanning the interior of the building, my eyes widened just a bit at the large assortment of weaponry inside. Anywhere I looked, my vision was full of racks or shelves filled to the brim with weapons and ammunition of all kinds. I didn't doubt for a second that this shop could arm this entire village and then some.

The only place without anything lethal was the checkout counter where the previously mentioned old man stood, his eyes following Neo's every move as she danced around the myriad of weapons. Sighing, I dismissed any thought of browsing through the assortment myself and just approached the bald elderly man.

"Good evening," I announced my presence, the shopkeeper's steely gaze instantly zeroing on my face. "Do you think you could maybe help us a bit? My sister is trying to find a suitable weapon for herself and I will be honest that neither of us is too knowledgeable about this kind of thing. I mostly fight with my fists and Neo goes through different weapons like they are clothes."

The man narrowed his eyes, his gaze going between me and Neo a few times. I had an inkling as to what was going through his mind, but I didn't see any reason to explain ourselves. We were here to buy, not to give the stories of our lives. Thankfully the shopkeeper probably came to a similar conclusion as he gave me a nod.

"Of course," he said, his voice as hard as his gaze. "Are you looking for a mechashift or just plain traditional weapon? I can provide the former given enough money and time."

I shook my head, "For now we will just settle for traditional weaponry, no need to rush into things." Besides I was pretty sure that mechashift required much more money than I currently possessed.

The shopkeeper nodded, an almost unnoticeable smirk appearing on his face. "Good decision. I have a lot of people coming by screaming how they want to have a unique mechashift weapon without even knowing what suits them. Dunderheads all of them. One needs to discover their calling first before designing a partner that will aid them through their entire career."

Right, weapon freak. Should have expected that, I groaned internally as the man joined Neo and began monologuing about the importance of one's calling. It's gonna be a looooong day...

"Focus Neo!" I growled as I dashed towards the small girl. She scowled and rolled away as my human-sized draconic body barreled past her. Not to give her even a moment to rest, I clipped her with the end of my tail, sending the girl flying through the air. "Remember while not as intelligent as I, Grimm will use everything they possess to kill you. Never turn your back on even the smallest of Creeps as even they can score a fatal wound when you are not looking. Dodging is one thing, being oblivious to a follow-up attack is another."

Neo coughed as she jumped to her feet, Aura flickering across her body. She raised her arms, fists almost completely white as she gripped her two new short swords. Without any warning she sprinted forward, her short legs carrying her faster than it should be possible.

I rolled my eyes and jumped a bit into the air, my wings spreading as I flapped them twice. The dirt below me exploded, a cloud of dust settling over the small forest clearing. What are gonna do now? I mused, settling on the ground again.

I could cast Hunter Pulse to find out where Neo disappeared or activate my special vision, but this wasn't the point of this exercise. No, I was trying to teach her how to fight against a semi-powerful Grimm that wouldn't just attack with reckless abandon.

Not a fair fight, but that was the idea. I already limited my size and abilities so she could at least stand a chance, even if my experience provided me with an overwhelming edge. Still, Neo was making plenty of progress when it came to fighting Grimm or even humans. I trained her into the ground for the last week, throwing Bob, myself, or even groups of Grimm at Neo to get her used to fighting stronger monsters than the usual Beowolf or Ursa.

Ever so slowly, the dirty mist began to fall towards the ground. I surveyed the clearing, searching for the small ball of almost unlimited energy, only to find it completely empty. Not bad Neo, not bad at all. Now show me what else you can do.

Almost as if she heard my thoughts, Neo jumped out from the foliage of the nearest tree, her swords poised to strike. Just when she neared my snout, I lashed out with claws, giving the strike enough strength to only knock her away.

Like many times before I expected Neo to be sent flying across the clearing. Only this time it didn't happen as instead of the usual grunt of pain, a familiar crack echoed through my ears. In front of my eyes, Neo's entire form shattered, raining thousands of glass shards upon my body and the earth.

I turned around, eyes a bit wide as another Neo slashed my side with her weapon. Her grin was telling and not even her shaking, sweat-covered body could wipe it off. She just stood there for a moment before the exhaustion finally caught up to her. Like a sack of potatoes, she collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Shock fading away, I chuckled and laid down next to the heavy breathing girl. Let's see.

Neo, Grimm's Little Sister, LvL: 10

HP: 450

MP: 2/930

Tier: D-

Additional Info: Hardened by the years of traveling from village to village, Neo became a resourceful girl even if her combat capabilities were highly limited. Taken in and trained by Umbra, she grew beyond what is expected from a child of her age. Unfortunately, even with her training, she is still limited by her age and experience. Semblance: Overactive Imagination. Beginner user of two Tanto-style short swords.

So that was what she needed to break through to the D- tier. Truly to think that she finally managed to figure out how to use her Semblance during combat.

I knew her Semblance was powerful. Though in my opinion, illusions were straight-up broken. The potential to mess with other's people senses was just too overpowered. As such to see Neo finally use her ability during combat was a game-changer. Before today, her illusions always shattered prematurely when we fought, but somehow she finally broke past her mental block. And so it only meant one thing.

Time to blow up some hideouts, I grinned, but instead of relaying my plan, I said something that Neo needed, no, deserved to hear.

"Good job, kiddo. I'm proud of you, remember that."